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Chemo Comparison
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Chemotherapy is often given in cycles. A cycle consists of a dose of a single or several drugs accompanied by many weeks or days with no treatment. The dose used mostly varies with a person’s weight. Chemo can sometimes be combined with radiation therapy, surgery, or both depending on the purpose for which it is intended, (Engert, et.al, 2003). The side effects of chemotherapy are not the same for everybody. In most cases, the side effects are weighed against the desire of killing the cancer cells, this way the patients may not be discouraged very much. The side effects of this cancer treatment are several and range from short to long-term. According to the patients, one of the most common side effects is the loss of hair. Chemo is capable of damaging the hair follicles and inducing them to not produce new hairs. This hair loss can greatly disorganize the individual even though it is just temporarily.
The other side effect as described by the patients is mouth sores. The gums interior to the tongue, cheeks, and throat tend to develop sores. Some of the patients pointed out brain fog as a serious side effect. In this case, the individual exhibits memory problems and foggy thinking. This side effect can sometimes be referred to as “chemo brain”. This particular side effect can stress a patient during the recovery process. Some patients go through depression and anxiety. Chemotherapy adds to the list of everyday stresses that individuals face.

This can overwhelm people and lead to anxiety as well as depression. Most patients tend to lose appetite during chemo treatment. This is because the treatment disturbs the digestive system inducing unpleasant symptoms that interfere with appetite. Patients also experience a wide range of digestive distresses ranging from diarrhoea, constipation, and others.
As the patients go through the various stages of the treatment, their social, emotional and psychological characteristics tend to vary with time. The psychological characteristic that is common among the patients is memory problems. The patients are also depressed especially at the start of the treatment. They are not certain whether the treatment will work. Doctors tend to be honest with them so as not to get their hopes up. The treatment, however, discouraging it is, the patients do not have a wide range of choices to choose from. So much doubt surrounds their minds. So many of them even consider giving up in life. For this reason, psychological treatment is highly encouraged among the patients. The caregivers too should be encouraged to be supportive psychologically.
In terms of emotions, the patients experience sadness because of their conditions. Some of them go to the extent of being angry at the world. Being unable to do the things, that one loves to do causes sadness. Some resort to self-blame due to their life decisions. Then there is the comparison with other people who are healthy. Looking at healthy individuals can make one term the world cruel. Emotional support is very crucial at this stage as such people could harm themselves. Socially, the patients tend to isolate themselves from others. They consider themselves different from the rest of the people. Their social interaction highly diminishes. The physical impact of the treatment tends to contribute to this fact. For instance, patients who are too weak to travel may not be able to interact with distant friends. Some of them feel rejected especially when their loved ones really visit them.
According to the analysis, the patient shown in JK3 is most likely to experience a positive outcome. This particular patient proves to be very strong as far as the situation is concerned. Her sense of humor is hilarious. She seems to take the situation well with very little worry. Her attitude towards the situation is likely to put her in charge of the sickness. The patient with testicle cancer is likely to give into the sickness. He has a negative attitude towards the situation. He is very worried that things might not turn out the way he wants to. By being so negative, he is already giving the disease much power to control his life. A positive attitude at this point is capable of lifting one’s spirit.
Health outcomes tend to be linked with humor and optimism. Optimistic individuals are less likely to die from major diseases like cancer, stroke, heart disease as well as respiratory disease, (Publishing, 2018). This is in comparison to less positive persons. Optimism is associated with better health outcomes and behaviors, especially in cardiovascular diseases, (Engert, et.al, 2003). High sense of humor also puts individuals at an advantage when it comes to certain diseases like heart disease. Such individuals tend to live on average longer than those with less humor. In conclusion, chemotherapy is the most common treatment for cancer. Its effects on the patients vary with their age as well as weight. However, being optimistic about the treatment is likely to bring a positive health outcome.
References
Engert, A., Schiller, P., Josting, A., Herrmann, R., Koch, P., Sieber, M., & Willich, N. (2003). Involved-field radiotherapy is equally effective and less toxic compared with extended-field radiotherapy after four cycles of chemotherapy in patients with early-stage unfavorable Hodgkin’s lymphoma: results of the HD8 trial of the German Hodgkin’s Lymphoma Study Group. Journal of Clinical Oncology, 21(19), 3601-3608.
Publishing, H. (2018). Optimism and your health – Harvard Health. Harvard Health. Retrieved 16 February 2018, from https://www.health.harvard.edu/heart-health/optimism-and-your-health